Mikel Arteta confirmed Arsenal had been actively trying to herald a striker earlier than Monday’s switch deadline however refused to debate studies of a bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
Solutions the Gunners had supplied £60m for the England worldwide surfaced simply hours earlier than Villa’s crunch Champions League sport with Celtic on Wednesday night time, a sport through which Watkins scored and missed a penalty in a 4-2 win.
Requested about Arsenal’s curiosity within the former Brentford man at this time, Arteta mentioned: “ I’m not going to speak about people. We’re actively seeking to try to discover options in that place and we are going to see what the market brings.”
Traditional clashes with Metropolis 👊
📺 Relive our earlier encounters with Manchester Metropolis in N5 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 31, 2025
Arsenal have, for many of this time period, used Kai Havertz within the quantity 9 place though Gabriel Jesus did go on a goalscoring run as an out-and-out striker earlier than struggling a season-ending knee harm.
Many Arsenal followers wish to see the membership signal an skilled striker to spice up their title bid however Arteta refused to reveal the type of participant they’re making an attempt to recruit.
“We don’t actually have a look at the market in these phrases,” he added. “We have a look at what we now have within the squad, what we’re missing and who can carry one thing that may doubtlessly make us significantly better.
“No matter age or the background they’ve is an actual perception {that a} participant could be actually good for us.”
Metropolis subsequent up for Arsenal
Arsenal face Manchester Metropolis on Sunday in a fixture that has in current seasons amounted to a conflict between the Premier League’s prime two groups.
However Metropolis sit fourth at the moment after an underwhelming marketing campaign that featured a fiery 2-2 draw with Arsenal on the Etihad earlier within the season.
Requested in regards to the relationship between the perimeters, Arteta mentioned: “Regular – it’s two groups making an attempt to win.”
Profitable, he added: “Could be an enormous increase for us. Profitable huge matches is at all times one thing particular. Each time we play an enormous match in opposition to our rivals, it brings one thing additional.”
Raya fear for Gunners
The house facet could also be with out first-choice goalkeeper David Raya, who missed the midweek Champions League win at Girona as a consequence of an unspecified harm.
Neto deputised however regarded nervous in an entirely unconvincing show.
“David we’re nonetheless unsure,” mentioned Arteta, who confirmed Ben White stays sidelined. “We have now one other session tomorrow. We have now 48 hours so we must see.”